Rail-joint.



' PATEN'IED MAY 24, 1904.

0. J. HOFFMAN.

' RAIL JOINT.

'APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1903.

Huwnlioz i To allay ham it rrtay concern: 7

.Be it known that I, CARL J OHAN HOFFMAN, a, citizen of the United States, residing at Den 3 rails are adapted to be assembled by overlap- 'rado, have invented new and'useful Improvetogether, so as to prevent sagging and form a web-and one ofthem having base-flanges 'are employed for securing the tongues toj UNITED STATES Patented May 24, 1904.

P TENT OFFIC RAIL-JOINT.

' sP cIF'icATIoN forming part of netter Patent 1 \T fi7eo,8e4, dategliMay 24, i904.

Application filesg -llovembcr 21,1903. Serial No. 182.143. "(N0 model.)

ver, in the county of Denver and State of ments in Rail-Joints, is a specification.

My invention relates'to'new and useful'improvements in rail-joints, and its object is to provide a rail having the ends thereof shaped in a-novel mannenwhereby the adjoining ends of two of such rails can be securely fastened of which the following strong and durable joint. 4 v

: The invention conslsts in providing a tongue cated at opposite sides of the ends of a rail which are similar to the base-flanges of the bodyof the rail, one of said base-flanges being provided with a longitudinally extending groove in its face, which alines with the ex' posed portion of the end of, the web of the rail. The tongue at the other end-of the rail has a head which is similar to and integral with the head of the body of the rail, and a groove is formed within the inner face of this head in alinement with the exposed portion of the adjoining end of the web of the rail. The

ping the tongues thereof, so as-to permit the head of one tongue to receive the upper edge of the other tongue, while the grooved baseflange of said last-mentioned tongue receives the lower'edge of the headed tongue. Bolts gether, and fish-plates may also be provided wherethe tongues abut against the webs of the rails. I

The invention also consists in the further novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described an'dclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of my invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail constructed in accordance with my invention, the central portion of said rail being removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the joined ends of two rails, and Fig. 3 is a section-on line 3 3,

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is the webof a'rail having base-flanges 2 at the lower edge thereof and a head 3 at the upper edge. A tongue 4 extends longitudinally from one end of the web, said tongue being one-half the thickness of the web and having its outer face in alinement with the corresponding face of the web. Base-flanges 5 and 6 extend fromthis tongue 4, and arranged upon the base-flange 6 is a longitudinally extending groove 7, the bottom of which is concaved in cross-section, and this groove alines with the exposed adjoining end of the web 1 and is equal in width to the width of said exposed portion; A tongue projects from the other end of the web 1 and is equal in thickness to one-half of the thickness of said web, and the outer face of this tongue is inalinement with the adjoining face of the web. The lower edge of tongue 8 projects a short are caused to overlap, the convexed lower edge of the tongue 8 being placed within the concaved groove 7, while the groove 10-receives the upper edge of the tongue 4, said tongue being rounded to conform to the contour of the wall of the groove 10. 4 It will be understood that the tongues 4 and 8 will abut against the adjoining ends of the webs 1, and when in such'position the apertures 11 will register and permit the insertion therethrough of bolts 12.. A fish-plate 13 is removably sedistance below the lower edge of the web 1 cured over the ends of the tongues and the adjoining ends of the webs 1, and these fishplates fit snugly with their edges upon the base-flanges 2 and 5 and the heads 3 and 9.

It will be'seen that the ends of rails con- I,

do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and I there-- fore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A rail having tongues extending from opposite sides of the ends of the web thereof,

, a head integral with one of the tongues and aliningvwiththe head of the rail, said head of the tongue having a longitudinally-extending groove in its lower face alining with the exposed adjoining end of the web, base-flanges extending from the bottom of the other tongue and alining with the base-flanges of the rail, one of said flanges of the tongue having a longitudinally-extending groove therein alining with the exposed portion of the adjoining en of the web.

' 2. A rail having tongues extending from the ends of the web thereof, said tongues being arranged at opposite sides of the ends of the web, a head integral with one of the tongues and alinin g with the head of the rail, said head having a longitudinally-extending groove in the lower face thereof alining with the exposed portion of the adjoining end of the web,

base-flanges extending from the other tongue alining with the base-flanges of the rail, one of said base-flanges of the tongue having a longitudinally-extending groove therein alining with the exposed portion of the adjoining end of the web, said grooves being concaved in cross-section to conform to the convexity of the upper and lower edges, respectively, of the tongues.

3. The combination with a rail having a tongue extending from one end thereof, said tongue being of less thickness than the web and having a head thereon integral and alining with the head of the rail and having a longitudinally-extending groove in its lower face alining with the exposed portion of the end of the web; of a rail having a tongue extending from onee'nd thereof and of less thickness than the thickness of the web, said tongue being adapted to overlap the first-mentioned tongue and having a rounded upper edge adapted to be seated within the groove in the head, base-flanges upon the last-mentioned tongue, one of said flanges having a longitudinally-extending groove alining with the exposed portion of the adjoining end of the web and adapted to receive the lower rounded edge of the tongue on the first-mentioned rail, fishplates extending over the abutting ends of the tongues and rails, and bolts extending through the tongues and fish-plates and rails for securing the parts together.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CARL JOHAN HOFFMAN.

Witnesses:

THoMAs GROW, A. H. DAUBLE. 

